Chapter 25
London
“That was lovely, Mary,” Jane Bingley said cheerfully. “Your playing skills have improved immensely in the last year!”
Mary Bennet smiled gratefully at her eldest sister, “Thanks to you and Mr. Bingley. I have learned so much from my music masters.”
Jane leaned over to plant a kiss on the girl’s cheek, “It was our pleasure. Now I suspect that you have lost track of the time; we must leave for the milliner soon.”
Mary grimaced, “Jane, I do appreciate your kindness, but I am uneasy that Mr. Bingley is spending so much money on hats and dresses for me! I am the plain Bennet sister, and I always will be. You cannot make a silk purse out of a sow’s ear, and there is no reason to spend so much money on my London Season.
It is not as if I will attract any attention from the men searching for a wife. ”
Jane winced at her sister’s self-denigrating description and sank onto the bench of the pianoforte next to Mary.
“Mary, have you ever seen a likeness of the Princess of Wales?”
Her sister looked startled, “Yes?”
“Is she a handsome woman?”
Mary bit her lip, “Not particularly, no.”
“And yet, she married the Crown Prince of England.”
“That is because she is herself a princess by birth!”
“Exactly. My dear sister, it may be true that you are not the most beautiful of us sisters ...”
“I am the least beautiful, Jane. I know that.”
“However, I assure you that many men will look beyond the outer appearance to the inner woman, and you are a wonderful young woman. The outer appearance fades away with time. A wise man will choose a wife based on character, not appearance. ”
“I am poor, Jane. You know that wealth and good looks are considered the most vital attributes of a young woman, with the former generally being more important than the latter.”
“Wealth, good looks and connections, Mary,” Jane returned calmly.
“You know that Charles and Mr. Darcy have augmented your dowry, and five thousand pounds is a reasonable sum. You are also related by marriage to the Darcys and the Matlocks, which will attract those young men who wish to forge ties with that family.”
Mary huffed in exasperation, “I find it all quite disgusting, Jane! The content of one’s character should be more important than money, connections, and beauty.”
Jane sighed, “I do not dispute that. Nevertheless, I believe you would benefit from a Season. Not all gentlemen are focused exclusively on such worldly concerns. Both Mr. Darcy and Mr. Bingley are wonderful gentlemen and they attended the Season.”
Mary’s lips curved upwards at this, “I know. I can imagine it now; Mr. Darcy, huddling in corners hiding from avaricious unmarried women, and Mr. Bingley dancing joyfully with all and sundry into the late hours. I find it charming that two such disparate individuals could be such good friends.”
“I agree. Now I am going to drag you away from your pianoforte, dear sister. The milliner awaits!”
/
Newgate Prison
London
Baronet Claude Daw sank onto the pallet in the stinking corner of his cell, shaking with a mixture of terror and fury.
How had it gone so very wrong? First Elizabeth Bennet, curse her, had slipped out of reach and somehow convinced Mr. Darcy, he of the enormous estate and fabulous fortune, to marry her.
Then only six weeks ago, he had found another likely candidate to be his wife, a young gentlewoman of eighteen left orphaned by an epidemic in her home.
Sir Claude had learned his lesson after the Bennet debacle; instead of meeting with the girl and offering his hand in marriage, he had arranged for the young lady to be snatched off the street as she left church one Sunday morning.
One of his drinking partners was a clergyman who could be depended on to help in a forced marriage.
Somehow, catastrophically, his plot had been uncovered.
The men tasked to take the girl had been captured by a group of lurking policemen.
His underlings had promptly given his name to local authorities in exchange for leniency and he, Sir Claude, had been arrested, thrown into Newgate and charged with plotting a kidnapping.
And this morning, after a four day trial, he had been found guilty of that charge. In three days’ time, barring an unlikely miracle, he would be hanged.
Sir Claude rolled over, dropped his head onto his reeking pillow and sobbed.
/
Rosings
Anne de Bourgh was roused from a creative daydream by a most unaccustomed sound, that of her mother chuckling. She looked up with a puzzled frown to observe Lady Catherine, sitting very upright in a chair near the fire, reading a book.
A moment later, she felt a clutch of absolute terror in her soul.
The book in question was her own book, Folly and Fortuity!
She forced herself to take deep breaths to calm her racing heart.
Her publisher had pledged his life and first born son if he ever revealed her true name, and she had chosen to trust his discretion.
Her mother chuckled again before looking up and observing Anne’s stare.
“Is the book amusing, Mother?” Anne asked carefully.
“Very amusing, Anne!” the lady replied. “The main character, a young woman of about your age, has a most absurd mother with a far too high opinion of herself. There is a remarkable lack of humility in Lady Lavinia of Darkwing Manor, but her conversation is terribly amusing. When I am finished with the book, you may read it.”
Anne stifled her own chuckle. Lady Lavinia had been modeled exactly on her own mother, down to the tic in her right eye when she was displeased.
It was hilariously absurd that Lady Catherine did not recognize herself in the pages of Folly and Fortuity, but she could only be thankful for her mother’s blindness.
Her mother returned to her book and Anne back to her contemplation.
She would be traveling to London in March to partake of the London Season, and then planned to journey with the Darcys back to Pemberley.
She had no intention or interest in finding a man to marry, but she would find much fodder for her writing in the balls and assemblies and visits to the theater, which were such a vital part of the lives of the upper classes.
Pemberley too could provide insight for future novels, while also providing a delightful sojourn to the north.
It was pleasant to spend time with her cousin, Fitzwilliam Darcy, now that he was married and the threat of being forced to wed him was entirely over.
Elizabeth and Georgiana were charming companions, no doubt rounding out a lovely visit.
Her mother, enraged at the Darcy marriage, had chosen to retreat to Rosings in high dudgeon and had declared she would not remove from her estate for at least a year. That suited Anne as she was quite ready for some time away from both Rosings and her mother.
“Ha!” Lady Catherine suddenly bellowed. “How very amusing! Lady Lavinia just criticized one of her farmers for growing melons that were too large. How absurd!”
“Absurd indeed, Mother,” Anne replied sedately.
/
Pemberley Lodge
“Oh, good morning, Lydia!”
Lydia Bennet looked up from her book at her sister Kitty, who had entered the dining room still rubbing the sleep from her eyes.
“Good morning, Kitty. There is hot chocolate if you would like some.”
Kitty, never at her best in the morning, sank into her seat at the table, poured herself a cup of chocolate elixir, and spent the next five minutes gazing blankly at a wall as she slowly sipped her drink.
When she had woken up a little, she turned her attention on Lydia, who was absently eating a roll while intently reading the large tome lying face open on the table.
“What is that book, Lydia?”
Lydia finished a paragraph before looking up, “Robinson Crusoe.”
Kitty frowned at this, “Robinson Crusoe? I have never heard of it! Did you get it from Lizzy?”
“Mr. Darcy gave it to me,” Lydia explained, casting a fond glance through the window toward Pemberley, which loomed in the distance. “I asked him for a novel about traveling the world and he recommended this one. It is wonderful.”
“Traveling?”
“Yes, the main character, Robinson Crusoe, travels on a ship here and there before finally being shipwrecked on a deserted island for decades. It is a very exciting book. You should read it!”
Kitty shook her head with a shudder, “I do not want to read of such a thing even if it is merely fiction. The very idea of being on board a ship makes my heart quail within me. I am so impressed with Lizzy’s courage in boarding a sailing ship and journeying to St. Croix.
The thought of a vast ocean around me is terrifying, and I do not like the idea of living in a new place where people do not speak much English. ”
“Oh, I adore the very idea, Kitty!” Lydia exclaimed. “To think of all that water around and below, of the sea creatures therein, of adventures in foreign lands. I have also heard Lizzy talk of the sailing men singing sea shanties as they work. Think of it! Is that not thrilling?”
“No.”
Lydia hesitated, closed her book and glanced nervously toward the dining room door. Mrs. Bennet rarely woke early, so it was probably a safe time to talk about her dreams and hopes, but she would still take care to keep her voice low.
“I want to travel like Lizzy did, Kitty. Her description of St. Croix opened my eyes to new vistas and experiences. I love England, but I want to journey to other lands!”
Kitty looked horrified, “You cannot! It is not safe for a single lady to travel without protection. You know Lizzy would never have left England except that Sir Claude was pursuing her, and at least she had Mr. Kendall looking after her.”
“Well, I would not go alone, of course. Some ladies go overseas with their husbands to France, or the Caribbean, or even India!”
“But we are not married.”
Lydia rolled her eyes in exasperation, “We are not married now, Kitty. We will be someday.”